Nina Davuluri, first Miss America of Indian heritage, graciously sidesteps the initial wave of racist abuse on Twitter after her win Sunday night.

Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri poses for a photo standing in the Atlantic Ocean in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Monday.

By:WAYNE PARRYAssociated Press, Published on Mon Sep 16 2013

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.—Moments after being named Miss America, Nina Davuluri immediately faced a trial by fire as the first winner of Indian heritage.

The initial question put to her at a news conference was about social media users who, upset that someone of Indian heritage had won, were flooding Twitter with racist abuse, referring to her as an Arab, a terrorist, “Miss 7-11” and un-American.

It would appear many fellow Americans feel the same, and within hours their tweets of support were drowning out the initial wave of boorishness.

The 24-year-old Davuluri is the second Asian-American winner. Angela Perez-Baraquio, who is of Filipino descent, won in 2001. As well, two the of runners-up in this year’s pageant, Crystal Lee and Rebecca Yeh, are of Chinese descent.

Davuluri, a native of Syracuse, N.Y., wants to be a doctor and will apply to medical school with the help of a $50,000 scholarship she won as part of the pageant title.

She’s the second consecutive Miss New York to win the Miss America crown, succeeding Mallory Hagan, who was selected in January.

On Monday morning, she took the traditional ocean frolic dip in the surf in Atlantic City. The pageant, which originated in Atlantic City in 1921, spent the last six years in Las Vegas before returning to New Jersey.

“Welcome home, Miss America!” Davuluri said as she stood barefoot in the shallow surf, wearing a lime green Miss America T-shirt and white shorts. “We’re back in Atlantic City!”

Her 89-year-old grandmother in India said she cried when she saw the news on television.

“I am very, very happy for the girl. It was her dream, and it was fulfilled,” Vege Koteshwaramma said by phone from Vijaywada in southern India.

She said there are numerous doctors in the family — both in India and the U.S. — and if her granddaughter wants to follow in their footsteps “I am sure she will do it.”

Asked about her granddaughter appearing in a bikini, given the conservative attitudes in India, Koteshwaramma said: “I haven’t seen any such thing. This must be all part of the competition.”

Davuluri had planned to go to the scene of a devastating boardwalk fire in Seaside Park and Seaside Heights on Monday afternoon. But pageant officials cancelled that instead Davuluri was headed to New York City to prepare for a slew of TV talk show appearances.

She planned to take in Broadway musicals over the next several days. On Tuesday, she’ll see Pippin. On Wednesday, she’ll meet former Miss America and fellow Syracuse native Vanessa Williams and see The Trip to Bountiful, in which Williams appears.

Williams was the first black Miss America in 1984, but she resigned after Penthouse magazine published nude photographs of her.